Chain Reaction

Chapter 29 – fragments of a whole

What if, in the escape of '09, Max hadn't escaped with the others? What if Jondy tried to save her when she fell in the ice, but in the end, they both got caught?

…

'14

Manticore

Alec was quiet, for a change. Jondy had mentioned it to her only the day before, but Max hadn't given it much thought. But now, sitting together on the edge of the roof in the high place, Max couldn't help but notice how quiet he was being. Usually, she had trouble getting him to shut up, especially up here where they could talk freely. The silence, though welcome after an especially hard day, was disconcerting. Max moved over slightly and leant against his side, slipping a hand into his. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, but didn't turn to look at her as she had hoped he would.

Max sighed. "Something is up with you Alec. The question is, what exactly is it?"

Now he turned to look at her. His free hand reached across her body and took hold of her right arm, bringing it back towards him. Turning her arm palm up, he ran a finger over the thick red scar that ran from the base of her thumb to her elbow.

"They didn't even bother to try and be neat, or keep the scars to a minimum. And I'm fairly sure that you have more scars, worse scars, which you won't let me see. You were already hurt badly, Max. Why inflict the pain of those surgeries as well?"

"They did what they had to, to make sure I would be able to use my limbs again."

"No, Maxie. They could have done that with the old techniques. They just jumped at the chance to have someone to test out their new methods on."

Max shrugged. She knew Alec was right. They could have fixed her broken bones and other injuries with their old methods. Even her crushed collarbone they could have mended in a simple surgery. Instead, she'd been dragged through round after round of surgeries, given multiple doses of different drugs, and forced to endure all of it without the benefit of pain medication.

And Alec was right that she had more scars he couldn't see. Her entire chest was a patchwork of red scar lines, and three dark raised scars ran in parallel lines down her back. Only Jondy had seen those scars, when Max had been unable to dress herself without considerable pain.

"How can you not care, Max? They're going to kill someone one of these days!"

"They'd kill someone if they heard us talking up here. We can't do anything, Alec. I can't risk losing Jondy. Or you. And if that means I learn to live through the pain, learn to ignore the scars, then so be it. I'd rather I was in pain, than either of you were suffering."

Alec punched the stone beside him. "I know that, Max. I know he'd hurt you if I stepped out of line. But I still hate what he's doing to you. And I can't just ignore it. I can't."

"I know." Max let go of his hand, and curled her arm around his waist. Alec looked down at her, and smiled. He lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulder, pulling her closer against his side.

"I wish I could keep you safe from harm, Maxie."

­…

Sacramento

Zane was hallucinating. Jondy was standing in front of him, a fuzz of dark brown hair covering her head, blue eyes gleaming. She was holding something behind her back, something Zane desperately wanted to see. But every time he tried to move, some force beside him pulled him back. And no matter how much he pleaded with Jondy, she wouldn't show him what it was she held. She just kept grinning at him, teasing him.

Tinga sighed as Zane lunged forward again, and Cass pulled him back onto the bed. Zane was definitely hallucinating again. He'd been calling Jondy's name for the last half hour, pleading with her to show him what she held. He'd been alternating between hallucinations and restless but deep sleep for the last 36 hours. She didn't know the full story of his illness, other than what Cass had been able to tell her, but he was definitely getting worse.

Cass had been meaning to just pass through the town, with a quick stop by to see if Zane still lived in the same place he had three months ago. Micah had told Tinga that story, of Star depositing Cass on Zane's doorstep with nothing more than a "help him" before tearing off to Los Angeles to save someone else. Zane did little more than set Cass's broken arm, strap it up, and give him a place for the night. Cass didn't stay anywhere for long.

When Cass had knocked on the door of Zane's apartment three days ago, Zane opened the door and promptly fainted. Cass had caught him, and managed to drag him back to bed. He had looked after him through the headaches and the coughing, even through the nausea and vomiting. But when the fever set in during the night, he had left a message for Star, asking for help.

Tinga had received a call from Star nearly two days ago, telling her that Zane was pretty ill, Cass was looking after him but needed a hand, and would she mind going to Sacramento for a couple of days to help him out until she could get there herself. She and Micah were on the other side of the country, somewhere around Maine, and it would take them awhile to get there. Which, knowing the speed as which Star and Micah rode, should be sometime in the next day.

Zane lunged, again, arms flailing as Cass tried to keep him down on the bed. One of Zane's fists slammed into Cass's eye, and he let out a loud curse. Tinga hurried over to the bed, and helped push Zane down. Once he was relatively calm again, Tinga let go of Zane, and took Cass's face in her hands. It was already beginning to swell around the eye, and there were two shallow cuts on his cheek from Zane's nails.

"Grab something frozen from Zane's freezer, wrap it up and hold it against your eye. Then go keep watch for Star and Micah. I'll mind Zane."

Cass obeyed, walking out of the room towards the kitchen. Tinga climbed onto the bed beside Zane, suddenly glad that it was a double. The only way she would be able to hold Zane down by herself would be to use all her weight. With a grin at the thought of what Zane would say were he in his right mind, Tinga straddled his body, placing most of her weight on his thighs. She made sure she could easily reach his shoulders without having to move any of her body weight from his legs, before reaching out to grab the book Cass had been reading before the latest hallucination cycle began.

­…

Manticore

The stars always seemed brighter from the rooftop. It didn't matter where on the roof Jondy lay, she could see the stars in all directions, and they looked brighter up here than they did from down in the grounds. They were learning astronomy at the moment, learning how to navigate their way by the stars. The Colonel had even permitted a few books detailing the common stories of the constellations to be placed in their recreation room, for any who wanted to know. They had been taught a handful of the stories in class, and for most, that was enough. But Jondy devoured each and every story that was in those books, and still longed for more.

There was Orion, the hunter, visible from every part of the world. In Greek mythology, Orion was born from an ox skin, and unknowingly slain by his own lover, Artemis. When Artemis begged for the gods to place Orion in the sky, Orion was placed beneath Taurus, the ox from whom he was born.

There was no lover to slay their personal hunter.

And there, above Orion and Taurus, was Perseus. For this star Jondy preferred the Christian's myth, which held that Perseus and Cetus represented St. George and the Dragon. Never mind that there were no such things as dragons. St George was the patron saint of soldiers, and surely he looked over her family just as the Blue Lady did.

Beside Orion was Canis Major, containing the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius. In Egypt, the rising of Sirius with the Sun heralded the flooding of the Nile, and marked the beginning of a new year. Canis Major also represented Anubis, god of the dead and the go-between of men and gods. In Greece, however, Canis Major and Canis Minor represented the two hunting dogs of Orion.

Jondy liked the Egyptian Canis Major better.

Here was Ursa Major, pointing the way to Polaris, the North Star. In Greek legend, Ursa Major was Callisto, and Ursa Minor her son, Arcas. The two constellations were more commonly known as the Big Dipper and Little Dipper, named for the shapes they made in the sky.

Six of the zodiacal signs were visible in the sky; Virgo, Leo, Cancer, Gemini, Taurus and Aries. Jondy knew little about the zodiac. She knew it was composed of twelve signs, connected to twelve constellations, and that people believed what star sign they were born under affected what they became, but that was about all. It was the same as the Colonel's treatment of religion. They knew the names and basic structural beliefs of the ten most common religions in the world, but an in-depth study had never been done.

The last three constellations in the sky were easy to name. Bootes, the herdsman. Andromeda and Cassiopeia, together with Virgo, representing the Earth Mother in her three aspects of maiden, matron and crone.

Jondy lay quietly for a time, running through the stories of the stars both seen and unseen in her mind. Only when the faintest hint of light began to show on the horizon did she get up and stretch out her body. She would have to go and find Max and Alec, and remind them that they needed to head back inside now.

…